WASHINGTON – Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, has introduced multiple pieces of legislation to address key issues facing small businesses, including improving vital Small Business Administration (SBA) capital access programs, facilitating employee ownership of small businesses, and expanding access to SBA disaster loans. “Under the Biden admini... Read More »
WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, and Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-KY) penned a letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) calling on the agency to release detailed information on the 7(a) Loan Program. During a September hearing with SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman, some committee members discussed the level of loan default... Read More »
WASHINGTON – Today, House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-KY), Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), and Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) issued the following statement after the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced it had exhausted funding for new disaster loans: “This is a desperate time for mill... Read More »
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, issued the following statement after the Labor Department released its September jobs report showing that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000: “The September jobs report showcases the continuing strength of the Biden-Harris economy, as we added over 250,000 new jobs and the u... Read More »
WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, delivered opening remarks at a full Committee markup. Ranking Member Velázquez’s remarks as prepared for delivery: Thank you, Mr. Williams. Part of our role as members of the Small Business Committee is to recognize the impact regulations have on small businesses and work to find ways to ba... Read More »
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, issued the following statement after the Labor Department released its August jobs report showing that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000: “The August jobs report shows that the US economy continues to add new jobs at a steady rate. Today’s report brings the total number of ... Read More »
Washington, D.C.— Today, the House Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations held a hearing examining the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) to promote voter registration in Michigan. During the hearing, Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) emphasized the advantages of increase... Read More »
Washington, D.C.— Today, the House Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure held a joint hearing with the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity examining the current state of veteran entrepreneurship in the United States. During the hearing, Ranking Member Hillary Scholten (D-MI) highlighted the importance of veteran entrepreneurs to the overall... Read More »
I must admit, when I heard the title of this hearing, I was terrified. The censorship industrial complex? That sounds frightening! The thought that thousands of universities, NGOs, and government agencies are partnering to silence any dissenting views is a horrifying proposition. Are they really trying to silence our cherished small businesses? Thankfully, the idea itself is fiction, cynically cre... Read More »
Washington, D.C.— Today, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing reviewing the federal government’s efforts to combat mis- and disinformation from foreign actors. During the hearing, Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) dispelled unfounded claims of government censorship of small businesses and discussed the need for the committee to focus on issues that small businesses care about. ... Read More »
Washington, D.C.— Today, House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) introduced the Prison to Proprietorship Act, a bill to increase access to entrepreneurial training for the currently and formerly incarcerated. “Research has shown that the strongest predictor for recidivism is poverty. The stigma of incarceration often deprives returning citizens the ability to earn a... Read More »
I’d like to start off by thanking Associate Administrator Frost for joining us here this morning. Ms. Frost, welcome to the committee. The COVID-19 pandemic posed a historic threat to our nation’s small businesses. The number of active business owners in the US plummeted by 3.3 million, or 22 percent, over a two-month period from February to April 2020. The drop in business owners was the largest ... Read More »
Washington, D.C.— Today, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing reviewing the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Capital Access (OCA). During the hearing, Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) focused on OCA efforts to prevent fraud and abuse, recent changes to the 7(a) program, and how Congress can continue to empower the office to reach more small businesses. According... Read More »
We all know that small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, but that is especially the case in health care, where small companies are at the forefront of technological innovation and are developing many groundbreaking new products. And their influence is growing each year. According to one study, the proportion of new drugs discovered by small startups more than doubled between 2009 and 20... Read More »
Washington, D.C. –Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, issued the following statement regarding subpoenas issued by committee Republicans to the Small Business Administration (SBA): “Today, the House Small Business Committee issued a subpoena for the first time in over a decade. During my over 20 years as the top Democrat on this Committee, t... Read More »
